Engine.



PATENTBD MAR. 21, 1905.

'0. E. HASTINGS.-

ENGINE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 7. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

U f w M J M 7 O m 2 W 7 Snowing Patented March 21, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E.. HASTINGS, OF GRIFFIN, CALIFORNIA.

ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 785,611, dated March21, 1905. Application filed May '7, 1904. Serial No. 206.915.

To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. HASTINGS, a} citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Griffin, in the county of Ventura and State ofCalifornia, have invented new and useful Improve-- ments in Engines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to engines, and espe cially to that type ofengine in which a plurality of cylinders is employed in connection witha steam chest and valve common to both cylinders,whereby the steam isfed alternately to and exhausted from the cylinders and the pis tonsthereof properly timed to cooperate with the main engine-shaft to whichthey are coupled.

One object of the present invention is to provide means whereby thevalve, which is rotary, may be adjusted accurately, so as to supply moreor less steam to the cylinders, and thereby regulate the speed and powerof the engine to a nicety; also, to provide a double set of inlet andexhaust ports in the valve in connection with means for shifting thevalve, so as to bring either set of ports into use for reversing theengine; also, to arrange steam inlet and exhaust chambers beyond theends of the valve and provide for cushioning the strokes of the pistons,thereby avoiding to a considerable extent jar and vibration.

\Vith the above and other objects in view, the nature of which will morefully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in thenovel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as hereinfully described, illustrated, and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan View of an engineembodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of thesame. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the engine, showing the reversing orvalve-shifting means. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the steamvalve, and Fig.5 is a cross-section through the same.

Like reference-numerals designate corresponding parts in all the figuresof the drawlngs.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a suitable bed or base uponwhich the parts of the engine are mounted.

2 and 3 represent a pair of cylinders between which is interposed asteam-chest 4:. Mounted within the cylinders are pistons 5, mounted onpiston-rods 6, which connect with cranks 7 and 8 on the mainengine-shaft 9, the said cranks being set at a quarter of a revolutionapart, as shown in Fig. 1.

1O designates a fly or belt wheel on the engine-shaft 9. and 11designates one of a pair of miter-gears, the gear 11 being fast on theshaft9 and meshing witha corresponding gear 12, fast on a rotary stem 13of the steam-valve 14, which is mounted in the steam-chest L and bymeans of which the steam is alternately fed to. and exhausted from thecylinders 2 and 3.

Each piston-rod 6 carries at its outer end a slide 15, which movesbetween parallel guides 16 and has connected thereto one end of a pitman17, the opposite end of which connects with one of the cranks 7 or 8.

18 designates the steam-supply pipe, and 19 designates the steam-exhaustpipe, which communicates with a steam-exhaust chamber 20, formed withina tubular extension or boss 21, extending longitudinally from one end ofthe steam-chest, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and also forming a bearingfor the rotary stem 13.

By reference to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the cylinder 2 embodiescombined inlet and exhaust ports 22 and 23, while the cylinder 3comprises correspondinglycombined inlet and exhaust ports 24: and 25,the said ports being connected, by means of longitudinal passages 26,with the opposite ends of their respective cylinders.

The valve, which is illustrated in detail in Figs. 2 and 4:, iscylindrical in form and is cut away at portions of its periphery to formexhaust-ports 27, 28, 29, and 30 and relatively smaller inlet-ports 31,32, 33, and 34, two complete sets of inlet and exhaust ports being thusprovided for in the valve. The steamchest is made of greater length thanthe valve, as shown in Fig. 2, in order to allow of the valve beingshifted longitudinally and also to provide a steam-inlet chamber 36,with which the inlet-pipe 18 communicates. The steam admitted to thechamber 36 enters the valve at the point 37, being in that end of thevalve which is in direct communication with the steam-chamber 36. Fromthe entrance-point 37 a branched steam-passage leads to all four of thesteam-inlet ports 31, 32, 33, and 34, said passage, with its severalbranches, being illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 4 and a portion ofsuch passage being indicated in full lines in Fig. 5 and designated as38, the steam in this way being supplied to all of the valveinlet-ports. All of the exhaust-ports 27, 28, 29, and 30 of the valvecommunicate, by means of radial extensions or passages 39, with acentral passage 40, extending lengthwise of and centrally within thevalve, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the passage 40 extending part wayalong the rotary stem 13, as shown in Fig. 2, and being provided at itsextremity with a lateral vent 41, which opens into the steam-exhaustchamber 20, the internal diameter of which is greater than the diameterof the stem 13, so that the steam may exhaust readily at all points inthe revolution of the stem, the exhaust-steam being finally carried outby the exhaust-pipe 19 and delivered at any suitable point. The valve isalso provided with a stem 42, projecting from its opposite end andprovided with a swiveled extension 43, which is slotted to receivepivotally a shifting or reversing lever 44, preferably of thethumb-latch type, as shown in Fig. 3, the latch thereof being engagedwith a segmental rack 45, provided with notches 46, three of suchnotches being shown for the purpose of providing for three adjustmentsof the lever 44, and consequently the valve 14. By throwing the lever inone direction one set of inlet and exhaust ports is presented to thecylinder-ports, while by throwing the lever in the opposite directionthe other set of inlet and exhaust ports is presented to thecylinder-ports, thus providing for reversing the engine. By adjustingthe lever to the central position the valve inlet ports are thrown outof line with the corresponding ports of the cylinder, thus stopping theengine. In such central position, however, the exhaust-ports slightlyoverlap each other, so as to provide for the escape of any surplussteam. By manipulating the shifting or reversing lever 44 tointermediate points the steam-inlet ports may be thrown open to agreater or less extent, thus providing for running the engine at anyrequired speeda feature which will be found of importance in varioushoisting operations.

Under the relation of parts shown in Fig. 2 it will be observed that thesteam is entering the valve inlet-port 32 and cylinder-port 34,

while the exhaust-steam is passing outward through the ports 25 and 29.With respect to the other cylinder the steam is entering through theports 34 and 32, while it is exhausting through the ports 23 and 27. Asthe valve 13 rotates the valve inlet and exhaust ports are shifted so asto supply steam to the opposite ends of the cylinders andcorrespondingly exhaust the same. During this operation only one set ofvalve inlet and exhaust ports is used. Now when it is desired to reversethe engine the lever 44 is thrown in the opposite direction, therebybringing the other set of inlet and exhaust ports into alinement withthe cylinder-ports, as will be readily understood by an inspection ofFigs. 2 and 4. When the lever is adjusted to the central position, thevalve inlet-ports are thrown out of communication with all of thecylinder-ports, thus cutting off the steam and stopping the engine.

It will of course be understood that the valve may be packed in anysuitable manner to prevent the steam from jumping across from one portto another, the packing being preferably in the form of rings extendingaround the outer surface of the valve and diverted at suitable points toprevent the passage of steam from one port to another. By making thevalve in the form of a true cylinder it may be moved endwise within thesteam-chest for the purposes above stated. The valve-ports are soarranged by preference that the exhaust begins either at the sameinstant or a fraction ahead of the steamsupply, and the exhaust alsocuts off just before the piston reaches the end of its movement, saidarrangement serving to cushion the piston-rod at the opposite ends ofits stroke.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is-

1. An engine comprising a steam-chest, steam-cylinders arranged onopposite sides thereof and communicating therewith, alongitudinally-shiftable and rotary valve-stem extending into thesteam-chest and having a longitudinal passage formed with a lateralvent, a steam-chamber surrounding the stem and communicating with thelateral vent, said chamber being elongated to maintain connection withthe lateral vent, under any longitudinal adjustment of the stem, and therotary valve shiftable in the steam-chest and mounted on the valve-stem,said valve having a plurality of inlet-ports communicating with the end'of the steam-chest and a plurality of exhaust-ports communicating withthe longitudinal passage in the valve-stem.

2. An engine comprising a steam-chest, steam-cylinders arranged atopposite sides thereof and communicating therewith, a rotary valveworking in the steam-chest and shiftable endwise therein, a valve-stempro vided with a steam-exhaust passage leading In testimony whereofIaflix my signature in from the valve outward and provided with apresence of two witnesses.

lateral vent, and a steam-chamber surrounding e the stem andcommunicating with the lateral CHAS HASTINGS 5 vent, said chamber beingelongated to main- Witnesses:

tain communication with the exhaust-passage J. E. HASTINGS,

under any adjustment of the valve. CHAS. PALMER.

